The great escapist fantasy

While spring/summer 2021 felt like a tentative venture into the outside world after a year spent being cooped inside, fall/winter 2021’s shoe selections embody a much bolder and adventurous spirit.

Perhaps it’s the feeling of the world beginning to reopen that gave fashion labels the impetus to let the imagination go more buck-wild. In contrast to S/S 2021’s minimalist ‘90s- and Y2K-reminiscent aesthetic, shoes that are embellished, furred, feathered, jeweled, and bedazzled stomped down the runways, their heels showing more heft and height. Indeed, from Erdem to Vivienne Westwood, on peep-toe sandals and even ballet slippers, platform heels reigned supreme.

Schiaparelli’s fall/winter 2021 collection includes ornate skin-tight thigh-high platform boots featuring gold toes. Image from the Schiaparelli website.

Even “sensible” footwear styles got the maximalist treatment: Stacked heels make the loafers from Tods’s and Loewe’s collections look both fun and powerful, while Balmain and Tom Ford have the classic pump coming in bright hues and sleek metallics that can catch light (and attention) in any room. Befitting its name, Valentino’s Rose pump features leather petals creating 3D rose details. 

Embellishments also make the season’s shoes look cheeky and extra festive. Gold toes and platform bases adorn Schiaparelli’s skin-tight boots while Prada’s mid-calf ones are covered in sequins. Simone Rocha’s tough-looking combat boots are softened with clusters of iridescent pearls, and Jil Sander, Dries Van Noten, and Victoria Beckham all presented their own versions of silver disco boots for dancing the pandemic blues away.

It’s not just a case of a 180°-degree turnaround, however.

“Pris” is a mirrored wedge sandal with an extended pointed wing from Giuseppe Zanotti’s fall/winter 2021 offering. Image from the Giuseppe Zanotti website.

While beauty and emotions remain as Giuseppe Zanotti’s North Star, the past year’s reality and the uncertainty that remains definitely added another layer to his design process. “As we hold up a mirror to the societal changes we’re experiencing, our collection seeks to break down every barrier, every limitation, and aim for the absolute,” the designer says.

One such barrier? Travel restrictions, both literal and figurative. The comfort and day-friendly appeal of the label’s previous collection has given way to mirrored leather wedge sandals with crossed straps and an extended pointed wing that lends the shoe a slightly dangerous and futuristic appeal. Meanwhile, the standout over-the-knee “Kate Gloss” boot marries the seasonal footwear style’s utilitarianism with the not-quite-of-this-world sensuality of vinyl—an exciting play between classic pieces and innovative designs that represent Zanotti’s balancing act between creativity and pragmatism. After all, “regardless of the situation we’re living in, we all need beauty, don’t we?” he posits rhetorically.

The use of marabou feathers on Roger Vivier’s bejeweled mules conjure the languid allure of movie stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood as they lounge backstage. Image courtesy of Roger Vivier.

Creative director Gherardo Felloni’s question, “Do we [even] show?” became the central idea for Roger Vivier’s latest collection. “It’d be absurd to act as if [the pandemic] weren’t happening,” he says. Besides, waiting could be made bearable, even delightful with the idea of performing despite having no audience—or, in a reversal of roles, the audience staging their own fashion performances. Emblematic buckles adorn knee- and mid-calf boots in luxurious satin, patent leather, and animal skin, and marabou feathers add languid luxury to delicate mules that are reminiscent of Hollywood’s Golden Age—a nod to Felloni’s love for the silver screen and his vision of using “fashion and accessories as a way to ward off the gloom.”

Of course, designers can only hold a light for the path forward. It might take a while for the wider public to get onboard their exuberant desire to move more freely, what with the ongoing global health crisis still very much a concern.

“The direction which we’ve seen women’s footwear move toward since the start of the pandemic until now has been pretty consistent,” observes Lea Cranfield, luxury fashion retailer Net-a-Porter’s chief buying and merchandising officer. “Customers are continually seeking comfortable and versatile footwear styles that can be worn both indoors and outdoors.”

Christian Louboutin’s latest sneaker design features a specially designed print inspired by the Tarot de Marseille deck. Image courtesy of Christian Louboutin.

Sneakers remain a popular choice for obvious reasons, though the taste for them is also evolving. Beyond the hype models, the retro styles, and the sustainability factor that’s become an increasingly important consideration among shoppers, the promise of an impending post-pandemic era is also proving too attractive to resist.

The athleisure staple shows up in F/W 2021 collections in iterations that reflect the labels’ brighter, more festive mindset: fuzzed, shearling-lined, in metallic and tactile fabrics, often with chunkier soles. Louis Vuitton’s pre-fall selection revisits the Archlight model, now coming in different textile combinations and colorways but still with its signature wave-shaped sole. Dior also has several sneakers on offer, such as the D-Connect with its black and white technical fabric featuring the Dior Around the World motif—yet again another expression of the desire for travel. In the case of Christian Louboutin, it’s travel of the esoteric kind, with the sneakers (and the rest of the shoes in the collection) featuring an exclusively designed Tarot print inspired by the famed Tarot de Marseille deck that adds whimsical drama to every surface it adorns.

All of these can be seen as rumblings of a collective travel itch coming back to life after a year of dormancy, signaling a mood switch for a season that’s traditionally about hibernating. Concludes Cranfield, “They lean toward a more optimistic outlook for the future.”

This story was published in the November 2021 issue of the South China Morning Post Style magazine. Read the online version here.